'Troubled waters' at PPR Kampung Baru Air Panas

It has been a whole week since the residents of PPR Kampung Baru Air Panas in Setapak had any clean air to breathe.

This is because their dwellings have been plagued by the sewage flow disruption that resulted in agonizing foul smell being produced in the residential space.

“The stench is unbearable. You close the windows, you turn on the air-conditioner and despite all these, it still doesn’t help. The stench finds its way,” a resident, Mazlan Rakib told Astro AWANI when we visited the site today.

The pensioner, who has been living there for 10 years, said Block B residents are the worst affected, especially those living on the first floor like him.

“The wastewater that continuously spills over through the ground sewers has made it difficult for people to pass by the area,” he said.

He said the surau was also affected as the washrooms were all clogged up.

“Now, we only use the washroom for ablution, we don’t dare to flush the toilets,” said Mazlan.

Another elderly resident who only wished to be known as Boon, said residents have alerted the authorities on the matter a week ago but no action has been taken so far.

“How long are the residents supposed to inhale this ‘aroma’?

“Why are there no actions being taken yet?” he asked.

It is understood that this was not the first time such a situation happened.

Another resident, Saad Mahmud, said: “The same thing happened three years ago. But swift action was taken then… the authorities managed to sort the issue out within two to three days.

“A lorry came and pumped out all the faeces and wastewater. Everything was fine after that,” the ex-serviceman explained.

The residents were baffled as to why it was taking the authorities a much longer time to act this time around.

The residents said their daily routines have been disrupted. The simple act of sleeping, eating and moving around have become increasingly excruciating as the stench was intolerable.

“This is a major issue here because it’s not just one block that’s affected but six out of eight blocks. This issue is affecting more than 1,000 residents,” Mazlan added.

The residents hoped that their problem would be solved soon.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) said they were alerted of the matter several days ago and it has been resolved.

IWK Communications Department senior manager Shahrul Nazmi told Astro AWANI that they have addressed the glitch in the technical side of the pump house, and that things should have been back to normal yesterday.

However, he said if the residents claimed that the problem still persists, IWK officers would be dispatched to the site again tomorrow.